Ch. 4 - Property Law

Question 1

Real Property

Answer 1

refers to land and anything attached to land (as long as it was considered an improvement)

Question 2

Personal Property

Answer 2

all property other than real

Question 3

Tangible personal property

Answer 3

(aka chattel, goods) property that has physical attributes. Owners can use, lease, rent, or sell. no registry for ownership.

Question 4

Intangible personal Property

Answer 4

all personal property other than tangible

Question 5

Intellectual Property

Answer 5

type of intangible personal property which is the expression of an idea in a variety of physical forms. if infringement occurs (when someone without consent does something that only the owner has a right to do), owner can seek remedies, possible penalties on infringing party. Includes:

1) copyright
2) patent
3) trademark
4) industrial design
5) integrated circuit topography

Question 6

Property rights

Answer 6

1) use
2) sale
3) publication
4) reproduction
5) performance
6) exhibition
7) translation
8) dissemination

Question 7

Ownership of Real Property in Canada

Answer 7

Federal/Provincial govts together own 89% of land in Canada, Provincial govts own 94% of land in BC

Question 8

Fee Simple Right

Answer 8

an owner can do almost anything with the property. Bundle of rights:

1) Possession/using
2) selling
3) leasing
4) mortgaging
5) easement/ROW
6) restrictive covenant
7) license
8) profit a prendre

Question 9

Joint tenants

Answer 9

two or more parties who each have an interest in real property, meaning that they own the right concurrently until one of them dies, at which point the remaining joint tenants automatically inhere the interest of the deceased

Question 10

Tenancy in common

Answer 10

each of the right holders own a stated portion of the right, and if one of them dies the heirs of the deceased tenant in common inherit his or her interest.

Question 11

Mines, Minerals, oil and gas, and air rights

Answer 11

generally not included in the fee simple right in Canadian Law. Prov and federal each hold some rights. For mines, minerals, oil and gas, the holder of subsurface rights needs access and a surface lease from the fee simple holder’s property to extract.

Question 12

Lateral support

Answer 12

the land and buildings on a property will always have the same or greater support as when they were first built or purchased. A neighbor cannot undermine that support by digging and affecting the adjacent property.

Question 13

Riparian Rights

Answer 13

provides rights to use water on or adjacent to a property. If tidal or navigable, owned by federal govt., if not, then has one or two right holders (owners)

Question 14

Air rights

Answer 14

rights that extend above the physical property to a reasonable level above the property. Purpose is to prevent a neighbor from erecting a building that blocks all sunlight to the property. Sometimes include air space parcels so that different parties own different floors of a building.

Question 15

Torrens system

Answer 15

a system run by the govt that creates and maintains certificates of title at land offices for every property. All real property rights are registered using this system in western provinces.

Question 16

Right that run with the land

Answer 16

rights that are not just enforceable between the two parties who first agreed to them, but also to future owners who buy the property and take the fee simple right.

Question 17

unpatented property

Answer 17

there is no certificate of title or registry entry for the property. property interests cannot be registered against unpatented lands. E.g. most aboriginal reserves.

Question 18

Lease

Answer 18

provides a party with an exclusive right to occupy or possess all or part of the property for a set period of time

Question 19

Mortgage

Answer 19

a form of security for a loan that provides the lender with right to be paid out of the value of the property when the property is sold, in priority to the holder of the fee simple right

Question 20

Easements

Answer 20

The right to use a neighboring piece of property, generally for purpose of crossing it

Question 21

Right of way (ROW)

Answer 21

an easement that grants a right to cross land

Question 22

Restrictive covenant

Answer 22

a set of conditions imposed on one piece of property for the benefit of a neighboring property. E.g. height restriction of new building on neighboring property to keep view. runs with the land

Question 23

license

Answer 23

provides a grant of rights to license to use a right held or owned by a licensor

Question 24

Profit a Prendre

Answer 24

a combination of an easement and a license

Question 25

Copyright

Answer 25

under the Copyright Act, protects the expression of words and data in original literary, musical, dramatic, and artistic works and must be in written form or performed, recorded, or communicated in a form such as radio or TV. lasts life +50 years, add (c) symbol with name & year of publcation

Question 26

Patent

Answer 26

under the Patent Act, protect inventions, which are defined as any new and useful art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter or any useful improvement in any of the aforementioned areas.Registered, lasts 40 years

Question 27

Trademark

Answer 27

under the Trade-marks Act, protect marks used to distinguish goods or services. Registered, lasts 15 years, renewable indefinitely, must use & protect or risk losing it

Question 28

Industrial Design

Answer 28

Under the Industrial Design Act, protects the shape, configuration, and general look of mass-produced items. e.g. vehicles, furniture, toys. registered, last 10 years

Question 29

Integrated Circuit topography

Answer 29

Under the Integrated Circuit topography Act, protects the design of integrated circuits. registered, last 10 years.